Champagne Style Beer Carbonation

[GreenBoneBrew]

I have a beer in the primary that I want to rack over to bottles in the next couple days. Do I need to a yeast starter when adding the priming sugar to help get the desired 5.5 volumes of CO2 in the bottles? Do I need to cold crash the primary? Can I just add priming sugar without cold crashing and making a starter?

 

[ColoHox]

I have a beer in the primary that I want to rack over to bottles in the next couple days. Do I need to a yeast starter when adding the priming sugar to help get the desired 5.5 volumes of CO2 in the bottles?

No. There is enough yeast in suspension to carb your beer. Make sure to leave it at 65-70F for 3-4 weeks for best results. You can add more yeast if you want, it won't hurt anything.

Do I need to cold crash the primary?

You can if you want, but you don't have to. I always do, it makes for clearer finished beer.

Can I just add priming sugar without cold crashing and making a starter?

Yes, but not in your primary fermenter. You should transfer to a bottling bucket (if you have one) on top of your priming sugar solution to ensure good mixing.

 

[GreenBoneBrew]

Awesome! My plan is to weigh out the sugar in each bottle using a digital scale. I've gotten inconsistent results with sugar settling in the bottling bucket before. Since I am adding so much sugar to the bottles, I figure I will be ok. I'm not going to cold crash, since I dont have the fridge space for that yet. I'm planning on disgorging also. I'm going to build a riddling rack for the basement to help with that process, which is in the low 60's at the moment.

And if anyone is interested in Disgorging, where is a nice video from Nick and Jimmy at Philly Homebrew. (Used to be Barry's Homebrew)
[ame="https://vimeo.com/55058935"]https://vimeo.com/55058935[/ame]